interview questions

Job Search Tip: Strategic Interviewing – Know the Problem They Want to Solve

May 18, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Learn the 3-pronged approach to understanding strategic interviewing and differentiate yourself from other candidates.

Katherine Burik is a Job Search / Career Coach and, in this video, she shares her 3-pronged approach for strategic interviewing. These tips will help you go into your next interview prepared to demonstrate, through your stories, how you can solve their problem and differentiate yourself from other candidates.

Want to learn how to Find a Better Job? Register for this FREE LinkedIn Training from the Interview Doctor – Get instant access here.

How to Ask Smart Questions in a Job Interview

February 18, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Learn how to ask smart questions in a job interview to determine if the company is a right fit for you.

Katherine Burik is a Job Search / Career Coach and, in this video, she shares her tips on how and why you should ask questions during/after your job interview and gets you thinking about the type of culture you want to work in. Asking questions can give you insight into the company and are a reflection of who you are and what you bring to the table.

Get more Job Search Tips from the Interview Doctor and Network with confidence on LinkedIn! Get your free copy of the “Job Requirements Comparison Checklist” to understand how you can evaluate one job to another, compared to your standards of what you want in a job.

Want to learn how to Find a Better Job? Register for this FREE Job Search Training from the Interview Doctor – Get instant access here.

I want to be a Job Search Ninja Warrior!

August 20, 2019 By Katherine Burik

If I could be anything in this world, I would be an American Ninja Warrior!

I wish I was one of those super fit men and women, propelling themselves through an obstacle course filled with crazy physical requirements like climbing twenty foot walls or massive jungle climbs! It’s an odd request from a woman who could never accomplish a cartwheel, but still…

I wonder how these competitors hold on – how a human being can be so nimble and strong. Most of all, I wonder how some folks can make it through all the levels and some fall off into the water halfway through.

Think of the job search as a long version of a big ninja course. Job search require a lot of stamina, energy and practice. Just like ninja warriors, the best job seekers demonstrate a high level of focus and preparation.

Here are some tips to become a Job Search Ninja Warrior:

Ninja Warriors prepare in advance.

Know what you bring to the table. What are the problems you can solve? Why should someone hire you? If you can’t describe it, how will anyone else understand?
Have a plan that includes your target companies – not just the big players in town.Research to identify all the companies in your geography who fit your size and cultural requirements.
Know the course and the players. Research each company to understand their issues and values. Look up people on LinkedIn and Google. Send invitations to connect on LinkedIn, paving the way to building a relationship from the beginning.
Know what questions you want to ask each person you identify in your target companies. Focus on talking professional to professional as opposed to talking about your job search.

Ninja Warriors have a lot of stamina.

Work out to build strength. Eat well so you are fit and strong.
Clear your head of all doubts and extraneous distractions. Meditate or practice power poses to put yourself in the right frame of mind.
Create a job search marketing plan with regular goals to force yourself to move beyond your self-imposed limitations. Think you can talk to 5 people every day? Set a goal to talk to 6 so you keep moving.

Ninja Warriors are confident enough to have personality.

Be yourself. You are a wonderful, unique, talented person who can add value to the right organization. Don’t be afraid to let the “real” you show through!
Be specific about what you want and how you add value. You might not appeal to everyone but you will appeal more to the right organization who values you.

Prepare for your job search marathon with the passion, preparation and stamina of a job search ninja and you are sure to make yourself proud! Since LinkedIn will be the cornerstone of your job search, check out The Interview Doctor’s new LinkedIn training program, The Inside Scoop on LinkedIn for Job Seekers. You will find many tips that will put ninja warrior-like training into your job search!

And because you have been part of our faithful online community, we have a special offer for you. Right now you can use this special coupon code (FRIENDS50) and register for the Inside Scoop on LinkedIn for Job Seekers for only $97. That is less than $20 a lesson – very budget friendly for anyone looking to find their ideal job faster. The code expires September 13th at midnight so don’t wait.

Find Your Dream Job Podcast

May 23, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

There’s one question that is often used first in job interviews, “Tell me about yourself”.

It is THE one QUESTION that can really throw people into a panic too. You NEED to be prepared to answer this question. Fully prepared. That is why I often speak and share resources about this, like our free download that helps you get started to answering this very question.

Because I am so passionate about this “Always Asked Question”, I was very honored to be invited as a guest speaker on Mac’s List podcast and I’m thrilled to share it with you today!

If you have a solid answer to this question, YOU set the stage and tone for the entire interview. So in essence you get to create the overall ‘feel’ of the interview before it’s underway and take some control. This can help shape the rest of it, allowing you to shine through it all!

Listen to it here and get the 5 Step Approach to nailing this question.

Who are you? Can you say it in six words or less?

January 5, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

Karen called with great news – she got the job! She had been working towards this big promotion for a few years.

It was a big promotion so it required a big plan. She came to me to control her enthusiasm and express herself succinctly. She had so much to say that it came out all jumbled. She applied discipline to her exuberance, looked her mentors and interviewers in the eye and stated her case directly. It worked!!

This great news got me thinking. Exuberance and talent are great but evidently not enough. Karen needed self-discipline to close the deal. What is it about self-discipline that makes what we have to say come out stronger?

We all have something to say. How can we get that information out in a way that other people will appreciate?

This is a difficult question. In my opinion, the single biggest problem candidates’ face is the manner in which they speak about themselves. They often get so caught up in their words and either their exuberance or their reticence in describing themselves that the message gets lost.

In an article about race relations, “Living the Dream?” in AARP magazine, NPR correspondent Michele Norris shares a technique she learned from a former professor to make it easier to share difficult subjects. She said, “Boil the story down to no more than six words.” Norris was trying to make it easier to “crystallize people’s feelings about race and identity”. The responses she got were heart wrenching; being forced to edit down to six words got straight to the core issues.

Can the same technique be used to distill job seekers’ thoughts into succinct statements about their expansive wishes and dreams? It is an intriguing idea. I decided to give it a try.

I have been having trouble saying succinctly what we do at The Interview Doctor. I know who our clients are. They are people seeking something new even if they are unsure what that something is. I know those folks often have problems leaping over obstacles (including themselves) to get what they want. I have been unable to say this in a simple fashion.

We have had several slogans: “We help you find the job you love” and “Fast action remedies to your new job”. Could I do better? My attempts got progressively stronger and clearer:

Plan and understand what you want.

Be succinct, have plan, get job.

Succinct goal, planning gets the job.

Plan with clear goal gets prize.

Know and say what you want.

Our clients get what they want.

I like the last one best. I think this technique really works! By eliminating all the clutter you can get to the core of the matter, state what you really want and what you have to offer to a company.

Now you try it!! Clear away the clutter. Share six words that describe who you are and what you have to offer in the comments below, or on our facebook page. By sharing with each other we can learn and grow.